Hong Kong Football Association CEO Mark Sutcliffe says his team “should be able to win a berth" in an expanded Asian Cup in ‘19 after moves to increase the number of teams in the regional competition by 50%, according to Alvin Sallay of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. The Asian Football Confederation on Thursday stated the number of teams at the 2019 Asian Cup finals will be increased from 16 to 24. Worried over the future of the game in Asia -- none of the four Asian teams who qualified for the World Cup in Brazil made it past the group stage -- the Asian governing body hopes increased competition can raise standards. AFC General Secretary Alex Soosay said, "In the AFC, we realize that without better competitions we will struggle to adapt to the increasing competitive nature of the global game." The decision was welcomed by Sutcliffe, who said the qualifying competition for next year's finals in Australia was “proof of the competitiveness of Kim Pan-gon's side.” Sutcliffe: "We came close to qualifying for Australia and were in contention right until the last match… I believe increasing the number of teams in the finals would increase our chances of making it in 2019." Hong Kong has not qualified for the Asian Cup finals since '68 (SCMP, 10/10).
